1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to devices, systems, and methods for establishing electrical and fluid connections to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to fluidly and electrically coupling a surgical instrument to a fluid source, an electrosurgical unit, and a pumping mechanism utilizing a cartridge coupled therebetween.
2. Background of the Related Art
Energy-based tissue treatment is known. Various types of energy (e.g., RF, ultrasonic, microwave, cryogenic, thermal, laser, etc.) are applied to tissue to achieve a desired result. Ultrasonic energy, for example, may be delivered to tissue to treat, e.g., coagulate and/or dissect tissue.
Ultrasonic surgical instruments, for example, typically include a waveguide having a transducer coupled thereto at a proximal end of the waveguide and an end effector disposed at a distal end of the waveguide. The waveguide transmits ultrasonic energy produced by the transducer to the end effector for treating tissue at the end effector. The end effector may include a blade, hook, ball, shears, etc., and/or other features such as one or more jaws for grasping or manipulating tissue. During use, the waveguide and/or end effector of an ultrasonic surgical instrument can reach temperatures greater than 200° C.
It is therefore be desirable to utilize a cooling fluid which circulates through the surgical instrument to avoid damage to the surgical instrument and/or the surround tissue. A typical surgical system incorporating cooling may include a surgical instrument, an electrosurgical unit having a generator, a pump, and a fluid source. During set-up, the clinician electrically couples the surgical instrument to the electrosurgical unit, fluidly couples the surgical instrument to the fluid source and the pump, primes and prepares any intermediary tubing, and ensures reliable and safe engagement of all components. Further still, disposable intermediary tubing between the various components is required to be maintained in a sterile state as any fluid pumped therethrough may inadvertently come into contact with the patient.
Thus, such surgical systems may require large amounts of time and effort for proper and safe set-up.